The Michigan State Spartans don’t have a whole lot of genuine NFL talent on their roster with the 2025 draft coming up in April, but they do have one particularly intriguing player who could end up being a legitimate professional threat: tight end Jack Velling.
Velling transferred over from Oregon State in January 2024 after a couple of strong years with the Beavers. He caught 16 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns during his freshman campaign, and last season, he hauled in 29 receptions for 438 yards and eight scores.
Velling’s average of 16 yards per reception at Oregon State was particularly impressive, especially for a 6-foot-5, 244-pound tight end.
So when Michigan State landed him last winter, there was some genuine excitement surrounding him.
Advertisement
However, Velling has been inconsistent this year, and not always to his own fault. Saturday’s game against Indiana was the latest disappointing showing from Velling in what was a blowout loss to the Hoosiers. Velling recorded just two catches for 22 yards.
To be fair, the Spartans, in general, didn’t exactly put their best effort forward in their 37-point defeat, giving up 47 unanswered points after jumping out to a surprising 10-0 first-quarter lead.
But after Velling posted a few solid outings against some tough opponents the previous several weeks, there was some hope that the Seattle native would be able to continue his stretch of impressive play on Saturday.
Clearly, that did not happen, but hope is certainly not lost for Velling.
On the year overall, the junior pass-catcher has snared 29 balls for 318 yards. Although he has yet to reach the end zone, he is on pace to have the most productive campaign of his collegiate career from a volume perspective.
Advertisement
Additionally, 14 of his 29 grabs came in Michigan State’s prior three contests against Oregon, Iowa and Michigan, three squads with tough defenses.
While Velling hasn’t been the tight end he was anticipated to be going into this season, given how important the position now is on the NFL level, he could find himself being selected earlier than expected in this year’s NFL Draft, should he declare.
Of course, a strong finish to the 2024 season would go a long way in establishing his draft positioning, so it would be best to avoid any more lackluster outings.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Months after being named the 2024 Indiana Thoroughbred Owner’s and Breeder’s Association’s Horse of the Year for 2024, multiple stakes winner Demolisher was euthanized after a bout with laminitis.
“We went from the highest highs as Indiana Horse of the Year to the lowest low ever when we had to say goodbye,” said Resia Ayres, who bred and raced Demolisher with husband Ken.
Unraced at 2, Demolisher proved worth the wait as he won the first five starts of his career in 2024, topped by stakes wins in the Governor’s Handicap and the To Much Coffee Handicap. All five of those wins came at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He closed out the season with an unplaced start in the Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.
In March the son of Dominus was honored as ITOBA’s top Indiana-bred 3-year-old male and its Horse of the Year.
Advertisement
“It’s about as high as we ever expected to have any of our horses,” Ken Ayres said at the time. “It’s hard to put words to it. Obviously, we’re super excited about it.”
For several years, the common refrain among some state lawmakers has been that they had no desire to tackle the issue until the federal government reclassified the drug. That argument will be removed if the president’s order receives federal regulatory approval as directed.
The Indiana State Ethics Commission on Thursday approved a settlement requiring former Public Safety Secretary Jennifer-Ruth Green to pay a $10,000 civil fine, closing the ethics case against her — but potential criminal charges remain under review by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. The bipartisan, five-member commission voted unanimously to accept the agreement during its […]
